Link-forming machine



E. W'. AUSTIN.

' LINK FORMING MACHINE.

APPucATloN FILED ,APRfzsf 1921*.

-Patuted (ma. 1N, M22,

2 SHEETS-A-SHEET L;

E.W. AUSTIN. um( FoRMmG MACHINE, APPucATlQN FILED APR'. 25. 192|.

Patmtd t. W9 11922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@or 'lof any appropriate construction and i 1i u To inzay-iicoiicernl"Beit known that I, ENOCH;

`Patented ehm, i922.

l Shawnee, in the county of and State'oit Oklahoma, have4irwentedeernivocnlw. Aus'rrn, or snawivnngonmnomn." y

Lmnromvrineiuacmnn. i

` nppiieanoniia pnl 25,1921. serial no. e4-,211,

AUSTIN, if citizen of` the ',Unted fStiLGS fesldlng at 4 -ottawatom1e,

tain newx andfusefullmprovements in a Link-1F orining (Machine, `ofwhich the f'following is aspeciication. p i l t g wThis inventionrelates `to llnltiormlng fl proved] machine tor wformlng chain-linksmachines, and `more specically toan imironi lengths i i wire. l i

U One object.oflthis'inventionis toprovide fto construct a l afsimple,lcompactycomparatively inexpen` whichichain-linkscan be quickly;andseaslly `formedfor hooking into one `another so, as chain ofthesprocket-cha1n `sive and thoroughly l practicah `machine l by i `Other rpointed; out o r implied ink thel following de- 2, ybut someplaneoflthemachine. w Fig 5 isa perspectiveyvlew illustrating ftheworking end of one of the wire-bending tails of description,injconnection with the accompanying drawings in'which;

t Fig. lis a vertical sectional view, the secu tion being takensubstantially along the line l-q-l` ofiFig. 2, portions being omittediori the sake of clearness.`

Fig; 2 is a top planviewofytheidevica thewirame being-remitted, "andpartsothe machine being brokenaway.`

`Fig. .Buis a view somewhatsimilarlto ofthe working. parts belng; d1

` y preferable to ferently positioned;

"Figg 4 is la view'somewhat similarto 1, :but the sections being:takenzsubstantlally `along the niedlan.v

through, the center or members. u: -1

@Referring to these drawings in detail, in whichjsimilar `referencecharacters corre spond with similar parts throughout the "several views,and in which thesupporting frame Amay be of angle iron, as illustrated,

` material, the invention consists inthe construction and arrangement orparts, as `will now be describedand claimed as follows:

n A sheet metal bed or plate 6 is lprovided with apertures' 7 throughwhich rivets or bolts may extend for securing the plate 6- tothe frameA, although any `appropriate means maybe emplo ed for securing the plate6 to the 4frame i This plate is proobjects advantages will" bei iwireystraight `vvhile the wire is tends,

`cure them in Lplace. i of the apertures?, from, the abutments 15, `16ant-lul?, a `bolt 21 plate `6` and `thltougll a blocks or washers 24 thestrip 22 and plate 6 for holding the strip in spaced relation to theplate or bed 6, this space being but slightly greater than vided with asubstantially central` opening 9Ithrough which a lever lObperates, thislever, belngrpivoted atllandincluding a bowed1 arm 12which passes lupand `down through theopening 9.V when the, lever 10 is swung on itspivot.

thefopening 9, a pair .-ofjbearings 18 are i secured byuneansofboltsvlfl Vwhich extend through "the plate 6 and havetheir heads`substantially ushed with the upper side of theA plate 6. Three abutments15,` 16 and ,17, extendnp from theupper side of thev plate 6, theseabutments ,being each providedwith a shank which extendsfdolwn through`the y plate 6,' and nuts are threaded. on these the thicknessot thelever, and adjacent to this abutment each leven 18 isprovided with a`depression which terminates ina hump. 181% Although it is possible toformleachf lever 18 ot asingle piece of material, it is. formeach lever18 oli two `strips of metal -andriveting or otherwise securing themtogether as illustrated, thereby avoiding unnecessary machining not thel lever.

Moreover, each leverld lis provided @with an aperture Vl8cwthrough whicha bolt19 ezt` ay strapforlieeper and through the plate 6, nuts beingprovided on l At the opposite `side extends through the guiding plate orstrip l these boltswto se- Qn `opposite `sides of portion `of l labutment 18a whichis substantially fone-half` `these bolts 19alsoextending `through 22 whichfmay be curved as shown, and the rearends of" thisv stripmay be secured "to the plate 6 by means of bolts 23.Spacing are provided between the thickness ot each lever 18, softhatthese levers can be quicllyand easily swung from the starting positionshown in Figs. v1 and ments 18a extendlover 1 the wire and'hold it 2 tothe operating position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. While being thus swung,the levers 18 areheld so close Ato thel plate 6 that'the wire B cannotpass under the levers, but is forced bythe latter into theU-shapeillus-y ,tion of-"a similarly shaped wire afterthese free-ends-have'been` bent' to form hooks in-l the'-frnannerwhi'ch willpresently be eX- plaine'd.` Moreover, duringthis primary bending "oftheA wire, the flanges or abutagainstbr adjacent-toV the plate 6, soAthat it cannot be disengaged fro'mthev abutments 16and117 aroundwhich'it is bent@ InFig.-k

3,-one ofthe levers 18 is shown at the end of 1ts operating stroke, the'other one "of theselevers-having been retracted so Aas-to more'clearlydisclose the wire B with? respect tothe abutments15,16 'and 17.

Now7 rreferring' to Z1,'it will be seen that the lever 10 has' beenswungfrom the starting position shown in Fig-1 Vto the final operatinglposition; ln'swlinging to this position, the 'bowed arm 12!I movesupwardy through the aperture Qand presses the` free ends ofjthe wireupward against the abutments t18j,thereby-bending these free l ends overthe -aibutments 18a' to form hooks e. Fig. 1. MorovenanyV appropriatemeans for engagement with the bight portion of a similar wire orlink;`Whenj the links havel beenyhooked together, their respective'hooks can-be 'closed'by any appropriate means (not shown) .y Whenlever 10 andboth the levers.

18: are retracted from' the final operating position,the flanges orabutments 18a are withdrawn from the hooks of the wire or link, and thelatteris free to be lifted from themachine, so that another length ofwire can be placed betweenthe abutments l16 and 17, -for. bendingdescribed. 1

v'lhelever 10V may be providedwith an aperture.y 10a,anclranyappropriate -means may be engaged with these llevers foryieldablyL holding it in thev position shown in `in Y the mannerpreviously' may be provided to operate the levers 10 and 18 by otherthan manual power.

`The lever 10 is provided with notches or depressions 1()b which receivethe free ends of the wire B andhold them in properly spaced relationduring the formation of the hooks.

Although l have described this embodiment of my invention veryspecifically, it is not intended to limit this invention to these exactdetails of construction and arrangement, but changes may be made withinthe scope of the inventive idea, as implied and claimed.

What l claim as my invention is 1. ln a link forming machine, a platehaving an opening therethrough, an abutment having a straight sidefacing said opening, an abutment having a straight side facing the firstsaid straight side and narrowly spaced therefrom so as to hold a lengthof wire in position to be bent while preventing the portion of wirebetween the abutments from being bent, a pair of levers pivoted on saidplate and operable to bend said wire into `U-shape while bringing theends of the wire over said opening, each of said levers including anabutment which overlies said wire during the bending of the latter, anda leverpivotally mounted on the under side of said plate and including abowed arm in position to pass up through said opening and over theabutments of said 'pair of levers and to bend said wire over the latterabntments.

' 2. In a link forming machine, a frame, a plate secured horizontally onsaid frame and provided with an opening, bearings on opposite sidesof'said opening, a lever. havingia bowed end held.y between and pivotedto said bearings, said bowed end being provided withl spaced notches,means including a pairv of leversffor bending a length of wire intoU-shape and thereby bringing the end portions of thewire over saidnotches, said levers being provided with abutments which extend over thewire and hold it in position to be bent, and means to hold the pair ofleversiagainst said plate while said first lever is pressing the freeends of the wire against the abutments of said pair of levers and coactwith Ythe latter, for forming hooks insaid wire-- ln testimony whereof,I allix my signature.

ENOCH W. AUSTIN.

